Terry Goddard Announces $90,000 Environmental Settlement

(Phoenix, Ariz. – June 11, 2008) Attorney General Terry Goddard and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced a $90,000 settlement with the Bradley Investment Company and its successor corporation, BXB Assets, for violating Arizona’s solid waste management statutes and aquifer protection law at the now closed Bradley Landfill, located at 4346 E. Magnolia St. in Phoenix.

Bradley Investment Company operated the landfill for about 25 years. After it was closed in the early 1990s, Bradley was required to continually monitor the landfill for potential contamination to groundwater, surface water and air. An aquifer is located about 30 to 60 feet below the landfill.

According to court documents, Bradley violated Arizona law by failing to comply with the maintenance and monitoring responsibilities detailed in a 2001 permit issued to Bradley by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Bradley also did not maintain safety at the landfill by keeping it adequately covered and secured from public access.

“It is vital to protect our water supplies from this type of pollution,” Goddard said. “These kinds of violations will not be tolerated.”

“Bradley failed to comply with its permit and violated our state laws protecting our precious groundwater resources and controlling solid waste landfills,” Owens said. “A company cannot just close down a landfill and walk away.”

The settlement, in the form of a consent judgment, was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court and is awaiting court approval.